As I’ve mentioned, there’s been quite a bit of “non-Hallie-like” meals that have left me feeling a bit…blah. But, I’ve realized that there is always something going on—there will always be a birthday or a barbecue or a staff party in which yummy treats/booze will be served, so I’ll never have an “ideal time to eat perfectly all the time.” That’s just not my reality right now. But still, I needed some sort of accountability system, so over the weekend I decided to start something new.
I have learned that setting strict rules do not work for me, nor does counting calories or anything like that. So instead, I sat down and listed some “health goals” or milestones that I wanted to reach every day. I put these goals in a Google Docs spreadsheet with the goals on the Y axis and the days of the week on the X axis (um, I think that was right. Math is frightening). At the end of each day, I gave myself a “check!” next to each goal I completed. Does that make sense?
I decided to do it this way so I could identify the “good” things I do each day. For example, maybe I didn’t get enough sleep, but I got enough water and whole grains, that sort of thing. I know that these goals are not that lofty, but it’s a start. I want to see if I get hit these milestones consistently and then I’ll work on adding more (i.e., 9 servings of fruits/vegetables, 100 oz of water, alcohol once a week max, etc).
I have never done anything like this before so we’ll see how it goes. I’m a little too chicken to post my checklist on the blog, but telling you all about it is a start, right? Here are the “health goals” that I’m tracking:
75 oz of water
3 meals and 2 snacks only–no extra snacking
5 servings fruits/veggies
1 sweet treat max (after dinner or after lunch, not both!)
7 hours of sleep
exercise (per training plan)
2 servings whole grains
Two days down and I’m doing pretty well! Moving on…to food! Last night I picked up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store that we had with roasted vegetables. Mitch doesn’t really like the leftover chicken “as is” so I had the idea to use it to make BBQ chicken pizza. Well also, we had leftover barbecue sauce and I could not let that go to waste. (Mitch’s homemade chipotle BBQ is to. die. for.)
They didn’t have pizza crust at the store so I picked up these flat wraps instead. I think they are a generic version of the Flat Out wraps that I never buy because my whole-wheat tortillas have less ingredients and are cheaper.
Not bad, as far as stats go. And not too many scary ingredients.
I topped the pizzas with the leftover barbecue sauce, mozzarella cheese, the chicken (mixed with some of the sauce for flavor), red onion, green onion, and red bell pepper. I added artichokes to mine and extra cheese to Mitch’s. I baked the flatbreads for 5 minutes, added chopped cilantro, and baked for 3 minutes more (400 degrees).
Of course, when he saw his pizza, the first thing Mitch said was, “where’s the cheese?” He then covered his pizza with another layer of cheese (so, a lot more than is pictured above). Next time I know to always double the amount of cheese I think he’s going to want. Boys….
My pizza, looked a bit different that Mitch’s but was rather delicious, I must say. I’m glad Meghann put artichokes on her pizza today, since that’s how I got the idea for mine. By the time all the pizzas were baked, I was getting pretty darn hungry, hence the lack of food styling.
I think there’s a serving of vegetables and a serving of whole grains in this meal, which fits in with my “health goals.” I think I’ll need to do this flatbread-pizza dinner more often, because I can add lots of veggies to mine, lots of cheese to the boy’s, drop some cheese on the floor for the pup, and the whole household is happy!
Ok, this has been asked before on other blogs, but…what’s your favorite pizza-topping combo? I love BBQ chicken and I also like Hawaiian…hmm…both are sweet and savory. Shocking.
Also…American Idol…anyone want to admit to watching?? I think I like Lee the best, but it changes every week. Thankyouverymuch.
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Pineapple + Jalapeno, no cheese, please!
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Spreadsheets don’t have axes. They have rows and columns. But you gotta love anyone who uses spreadsheets in every day life like this.
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Hallie Reply:
April 14th, 2010 at 9:29 am
Thanks for that, little brother.
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I love that idea of the health goals. And how it focuses on what you do for yourself. I like to do things like that too when I have something I am working towards.
Fave pizza combo – mushrooms, olives, peppers, onion, and pepperoni.
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Ahh, I am so jealous of the wraps you guys have in the states. The only tortillas here are really dense and chewy and at least 200 calories a piece. That’s why I always go for the pitas, which apparently are better in these parts.
Love your checklist idea!! I think that’s a fabulous way to see where you’re doing well and what needs improvement. Seeing lots of check marks would be motivating too.
Fave pizza topping is greek – feta, olives, spinach, tomatoes, green pepper. But if I reeeally had to choose, I’d pick garlic fingers instead. Basically pizza crust with garlic butter smothered in cheese. My gosh.
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I’ll admit to watching American Idol. I think Crystal’s the best, but I really like Lee, too. Andrew and Aaron better go tonight; they’re just terrible.
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i think your pizza looks beautiful! i’m so used to pizza without cheese these days…
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this is an awesome plan and those are great goals. i love it. you are so in tune with the real world!
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i think your pizza looks beautiful! i’m so used to pizza without cheese these days…
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